The Traditional Underdog Weekend Is Here

A .585 winning percentage against the spread isn't going to buy a round for the house. More likely, it could be a key factor in losing the house.

So, the message this weekend in the NFL is beware of the underdog. In the 11 seasons since re-alignment, they've gone 24-17 against the spread in the divisional round. That's the sort of gray area that busts parlays and puts bookies' kids through school.

For the record, here are this week's dogs:

Baltimore is +9.5 at Denver

Green Bay is +3 at San Francisco

Seattle is +2.5 at Atlanta

Houston is +9.5 at New England

A rough estimate of the trend indicates two of these dogs will prevail. Las Vegas reports that the only one of them getting popular play is the Packers.

AccuScore likes the Seahawks and Ravens, though, and for those who want to live life on the edge, AccuScore hints that the .085 over .500 remaining in this weekend's traditional dog percentage should go to the Texans and not the Packers.

Past performance is clearly not a guarantee of future results, but should that happen, it only figures that if the one dog the public prefers is the Pack this weekend, the minority 'rule' that makes bookies smile will prevail again.